Meng Zhiyu returned the bicycle and gave half of the tofu pudding to Li Tingman and others.

After returning to my house, I washed the fish that was stepped on yesterday and planned to make a pot of fish soup. I would eat fish and tofu pudding tonight.

"Sister Meng, Sister Meng." There was a knock on the door accompanied by Goudan's shouting.

Meng Zhiyu opened the door, looked at Goudan and the other kids, bent down slightly, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Goudan held out his hand, "Sister Meng, this is thatch root, it's delicious."

Tiedan and Donkey also raised their hands and handed it over, "I have this too, Sister Meng, this is specially for you."

Meng Zhiyu looked at the palm-sized, green, bamboo-like thatch roots. She had eaten this a lot when she was a child living in the countryside with her grandparents.

Soft and sweet, it is a natural green snack.

Meng Zhiyu reached out to take it, brought the three little guys into the house, filled a basin of water for them to wash their hands, and then gave them three pieces of date cake.

Goudan glanced at the red date cake and took two steps back, "Sister Meng, we can't have this."

Although he had never seen this kind of snack, it must be as expensive as other snacks. They came to give her thatch roots because they had no money to buy better things, but they wanted to thank her.

Meng Zhiyu took his little hand and put it in, then gave it to Tiedan and Donkey. "This is my return gift to you. You gave me delicious food, so I give you delicious food too. Isn't that what your grandma and the others do?"

Goudan thought about it and realized that it was indeed the case. He looked up, squinted his eyes, and smiled as he thanked her, "Thank you, Sister Meng."

Tiedan and Ludan followed suit. Meng Zhiyu asked them to sit on stools to eat while she took the thatch roots to look after the pot.

I tore open a piece of thatch root and put it in my mouth. It tasted just as natural as I remembered.

While waiting for the fish soup, Meng Zhiyu prepared four bowls of tofu pudding and gave one to each of the three children. "Eat it. When you're done, ask your grandma to return a handful of beans to me."

Goudan and the other two looked at the white tofu milk in the bowl, swallowed their saliva, and finally couldn't help it.

After eating the tofu pudding, the fish soup was ready. Half of it was poured into a large bowl. Meng Zhiyu then served a bowl to the three children and ate with them.

After eating, I washed the dishes, closed the door, and followed Goudan and the others to Zhou's house.

It was time to cook and eat. Meng Zhiyu and his friends didn't meet anyone on the way. It was Zhou Ersao's turn to cook today.

Goudan ran into the yard happily, shouting, "Grandma, Mom, Sister Meng is here."

Meng Zhiyu walked into the kitchen carrying the fish soup and greeted Zhou Ersao, "Zhou Ersao, this is the fish soup I made. Come and try my cooking skills."

Zhou Ersao was pumping the bellows. Upon hearing this, she stood up and glanced at the white soup in the basin. She smiled and said, "Come on, why bring anything with you? It's not easy for you to be here alone. You should take some back and eat it yourself."

This girl looks so thin, it's obvious that she doesn't eat enough, she needs to eat more.

Meng Zhiyu simply put the bowl on the dining table and said, "I've eaten. Brother Zhou San helped me a lot in the county town yesterday, so this is my way of thanking him."

Since it was because of her brother-in-law, she couldn't say anything else, so she invited her to dinner here, "Come to think of it, I haven't thanked you properly yet. You saved my child. To me, you are my lifelong benefactor."

Meng Zhiyu shook his head and said with a smile, "Sister Zhou Er, it's not as serious as you say. This is something others wouldn't do. If others knew how to save her, they would definitely do it."

Zhou's mother and sister-in-law were tidying up the vegetable garden in the backyard. Goudan and the other two were chattering about what delicious food they had eaten at Sister Meng's house, and they pulled them into the kitchen.

Meng Zhiyu said a few words to them, refused Zhou's mother's invitation to stay for dinner, and returned to her own hut with her basin.

After washing and hanging out the dirty clothes, we entered the classroom to learn the courses for the competition. The title of the first lesson was "Everything can be pinched."

Simply put, it is to make edible things into physical objects such as shoes, mobile phones, boxes, etc., and then mix them with some real objects, and then let the judges and the audience vote. The longer you stay to the end, the bigger the reward you get.

Meng Zhiyu was immersed in learning in the classroom, while the Zhou family was finishing their meal around the table.

Boss Zhou looked at the fish soup in the middle, chewed the nest in his hand and asked, "Mom, where did this fish soup come from?"

Goudan raised his hand, "I know, it was sent by Sister Meng. Sister Meng also gave Tiedan and me some date cakes."

Tiedan added, "There's also tofu pudding, which is delicious."

Zhou Ersao glanced at Zhou Songbai and said, "Meng Zhiqing said she was grateful for her uncle's help yesterday."

Mother Zhou first served Father Zhou a bowl of fish soup and then half a bowl for herself. "Meng Zhiqing is so polite. If we're going to express our gratitude, it's our family who should thank her. This little girl spent an entire night searching for herbs in the mountains to save our two children. What a great favor!"

Father Zhou nodded, "Your mother is right."

Mrs. Zhou tasted the fish soup, her eyes sparkling. "Dad, Mom, don't worry. I've got it all in mind. I'll pay more attention to Meng Zhiqing's affairs in the future."

Zhou Ersao also nodded and said, "Yes, if anyone dares to bully Meng Zhiqing in the future, my sister-in-law and I will be the first to object."

Mother Zhou looked at her two daughters-in-law and said, "It's good that you know. And the eldest, you three, especially the third, aren't you in the same team with Meng Zhiqing? Young one, you should be more diligent and help Meng Zhiqing with the work."

Father Zhou continued to nod, "Your mother is right. Meng Zhiqing looks so weak and frail, he definitely can't do farm work. Third brother, you should lend a hand and don't let others see."

What this brigade lacks the most are big-mouthed women. They can tell you a simple matter in a distorted way, and the person involved may not be able to recognize that it is their own business when they hear it.

"I understand." Zhou Songbai responded, lowered his head and tasted the fish soup. It tasted pretty good, but he didn't know whether it was the unlucky fish that was stepped on by the country boy yesterday, or a new one bought today.

After the village gradually quieted down and only the chirping of insects remained, Meng Zhiyu finished today's exam and sat on the kang with the blind box.

There was a candle lit in the room, and the candlelight was very dim. Meng Zhiyu felt something was wrong as soon as he opened the blind box. He thought, how come this thing seems to be moving?